Turn change into gold

Something good in all of us

On a recent walk I am deep in thought. An elderly Zulu man with a steel wool beard stops in front of me. This is not our first encounter. As before, he has had a few drinks, but is reasonably steady on his feet.

Usually, it is just, “Sawubona!” and we are on our way again. This time, we share names. His is Aaron, my step-son’s name. I tell him. He is delighted. He reaches for my hand. His is dirty with the engrained dirtiness that comes from weeks without a bath. We hold hands. On impulse – and because I know this – I tell him, “ Aaron, your name means one who brings the light. Remember that, always.” His smile is a ripe pomegranate split open by the sun.

“ Hamba Kahle.” We set off in opposite directions, but our paths cross again on my way back.

“Juliette!” he calls with delight. He reaches for my right hand and holds it. Nothing separates us in this clean moment of contact.

“ You married?” he asks, glancing at my ring finger.

“Yes.”

His face falls, then brightens. “ You marry me if you get divorce?”

Laughing, I disengage my hand. “ I’m not getting divorced, Aaron.”

I leave him very happy. The sun is in both of us as we say goodbye.

I know, in thinking about this story, that Aaron did not want to marry me so much as the idea that he is filled with light that is his to share with others.

Like many others, I love the Marianne Williamson quotation immortalised by Nelson Mandela : “ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us…We are all meant to shine, as children do… It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

It is my hope as a coach, that the coaching process will put all of my clients in touch with the unique light that is theirs to share with the world.